Oren b



(No Model.)

0. E. MILES.

PLOW..

Patented June 20,, 1882,,

"No. 2;5-9,89 i.

WITNESSES i INVENTOR "(3' orneys ETER& Photo-Lithographer. Wzmingwm u,c.

' UNITED STATES PATEN'r OFFICE.

OREN E. MILES, OF CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO DANIEL H. RICHARDS, OFSAME PLACE.

PLOW.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No, 259,894, dated June 20,1882.

Application filed April 7,1882. (No model.)

To all whom it, may concern:

Be it known that I, OREN E. MrLEs, of Cedar Rapids, in the county ofLinn and State of Iowa, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Plows; and I do hereby declare that the following is afull, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enableothers skilled in the art to which it' appertains to make and use thesame, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form apart of this specification, and in which- Figure l is a side elevationof my improved plow, showing the essential elements of the same; andFig. 2 is a rear elevation, partly in section, on the vertical line at min Fig. 1.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both thefigures. My invention has relation to rotary plows; and it consists inthe construction and combination of parts of a plow of that class whichis adapted to cut a-trench or furrow diagonally into the earth by meansof a revolving cutterhead operating in conjunction with a rotary colterrevolving in a vertical or inclined plane in such manner that atriangular slice of sod or surface-soil is cut loose and dropped intothe trench or furrow with its original surface upward, or withoutreversing it, the slices of earth being successively covered by thepulverized earth removed from under the slices by the rotary cutter-headin cutting them. To this end I construct my plow with a vertical,

. or approximately vertical, col ter or cutter which operates inconjunction with a rotary cutterhead, the plane of motion of which isinclined more or less to the horizontal, so as to intersect in itscourse the cut made by the colter a suitable distance below the surfaceof the soil, according to the desired thickness of the slice of earth orsod cut loose and the depth of the diagonal trench which is to receivethe same.

My improved plow may be worked either by horse or steam power, and inthe latter case either by a traction-engine or by an engine mounted uponor forming part of the plow itself.

In the drawings hereto annexed I have shown a plow adapted to beoperated by horsepower; but all non-essential parts have been omittedfor the purpose of showing more clearly the essential operating parts ofmy invention.

A designates asuitably-constructed frame, in the front end of which isfixed the pole orv tongue B, to which the draft is applied when themachine is to be operated by horse-power.

C is the drive or master wheel, the axle D of which may be journaled inthe frameA or be rigidly attached thereto. In the latter case themaster-wheel will of course run loosely upon it. The function of thiswheel as a drivewheel remains the same whether it is attached loosely orrigidly to the axle. To avoid a ropetition of terms I shall call thiswheel henceforth simply the master-wheel.

lhe master-wheel C is provided with a gear,

d, which meshes with apinion, E, upon shaft F of the bevel cog wheel G.Said gear 01, which is shown in the annexed drawings as an internalgear, may, however, be an external gear, if desired,aocording to whetherit is desired to give a right-hand or left-hand rotation to thecutter-head.

If the plow is to be operated by a steam englue mounted upon or formingpart of itself, said engine may be arranged to exert its power directlyupon shaft F, or upon an intermediate counter-shaft, in which case themaster-wheel C simply operates as a drive-wheel or groundwheel, inconjunction with other ground-wheels, as means of locomotion.

In the present illustration of my invention shaft F is journaled in apair of arms, H,which are hinged to the shaft D of the master-wheel, asshown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, suitable means bein gprovided forretaining the position of arms H at any desired angle. In the positionof the parts as shown in Fig.1 shaft or axle D of the master-wheel andshaft F of pinion E and gear-wheel G are in aline with each other, andhence in Fig. 2 the forward shaft, D, is partially concealed from viewby shaft F, which, however, does not extend beyond the pinion E, keyedupon its outerend. By adj ostin g-c'. 0., raisin g or lowering-the armsH shaft F, with its adjuncts, may be raised or lowered to regulate thedepth of cut, and as the arms H are pivoted upon shaft D of themaster-wheel Use as to move in the'arc of a circle, it follows thatpinion IE will at all times mesh with the gear d of wheel 0,irrespective of the adjustment of arms H.

Upon shaft F is hung a frame of cast or wrought metal, I, the upper endof which terminates in a lever or handle, I, while in its lower end ismounted obliquely a short shaft, K, to the lower end of which is affixedthe cuttor-head L, consisting of a disk or wheel, the periphery of whichis provided with a series of cutters, M.

I do not confine myself to any particular construction of said cutters,as they may be made in many different ways, according to the nature ofthe soil in which the plow is to be used; but it is convenient toconstruct them of parallel steel bars pointed or sharpened at theirouter ends and arranged in sets, substantially in the same manner as theblades in a millstone-pick, so that if one is broken or injured it maybe readily removed and a fresh one substituted.

Shaft K has a bevel-pinion, N, which meshes with the bevel-wheel G, andit follows that as the latter is rotated it will impart a rotary mo tionto the cutter-head L, with its cutters M. The arms H, being hung in themanner described, afl'ord a ready means for regulating the verticaldepth of the trench cut by the cutters M, and by pushing the handle orlever 1 toward the front end of frame A the swinging frame or casting I,which is pivoted upon shaft F, may be made to assume a nearly horizontalposition, thus raising the cutter-head L clear off of the ground,suitable means (which will readily suggest themselves) being providedfor securing said frame I in this or in its upright working position, asthe case may be.

The vertical, or approximately vertical, cut into the soil intersectingthe oblique cut or excavation (for it is more in the nature of anexcavation) made by the rotary cutter-head is produced by a rotarysharp-edged disk or colter, 0, the short shaft or stub-axle O of whichis journaled in a pendant,P, of frame A in proximity to the master-wheelC. By making the arm or pendant P adjustable in frame A the depth of thevertical cut made by colter 0 may be regulated at will.

In operating the machine a triangular slice (shown at z in Fig. 2) iscut from the surface of the soil by excavating in an oblique directionunderneath it, in conjunction with the vertical cut made by the colter.The excavated earth is thrown out of the cut or furrow by the cutters M,so as to cover the slices of earth or sod occupying the furrows lastmade, after which the triangular slice of earth falls back into its ownfurrow right side up, as hereinbefore stated, to be in turn covered inthe same manner, and so on, the amount of earth excavated depending uponthe width of the cutters M and the radial depth to which the cutter-headpenetrates the earth.

If desired, the cutter-head L, with its cutters M, may be provided witha hood or shield to prevent accident, and also to serve as an apron ordeflector to arrest the flying earth as it is thrown out from the trenchor furrow by the cutters or excavators M and cause it to drop down overand upon the slices of earth occupying the furrows last made. I

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent of the United. States-- 1. The improved method of plowingherein shown and described, the same consisting in cutting a triangularslice from the soil along the furrow to be made by a vertical cut andexcavating underneath said slice, causing itto drop, right side up, intothe trench or furrow being made, and spreading the excavated earth overthe slices of soil deposited in the tren chcs last made, substantiallyas shown and set forth.

2. A plow adapted to cut off a slice of earth triangular incross-section from the surface of the soil by a vertical cut andexcavating underneath the same, causing the slice of earth to drop intothe bottom of the trench or furrow right side up, substantially as setforth.

3. In a plow, the combination, with a rotary cutter or colter cutting ina vertical, or approximately vertical, plane, of an oblique cutter orcutter-head adapted to excavate earth in an oblique direction from thesurface of the soil to its point of intersection with the cut made bythe rotary cutter or colter, substantially as and for the purpose hereinshown and set forth.

4. The combination, in a rotary plow, of the master-wheel U, shaft F,pinion E, bevel-wheel Gr, frame I, hung upon shaft F, and having thehandle or lever I, shaft K, mounted in said frame and provided with thebevel-pinion N and rotary cutter-head L, and the rotary colter orcuttingdisk 0, all constructed and combined to operate substantially inthe manner and for the purpose herein shown and specified.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereuntoaffixed my signature in presence of two witnesses.

OREN E. .h'IlLES.

lVitnesses:

D. H. RICHARDS, HENRY MONTILLON.

